Connecticut's state Democratic Party sued because of a ballot shortage. Bridgeport officials ordered 21,000 ballots despite the fact that the city has more than 69,000 registered voters, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said.

Bysiewicz said the state Republican Party argued against extending the hours, saying that voters were not disenfranchised because photocopied ballots were provided, which will be counted. The state attorney general's office also argued that the polls should close at 8 p.m.

Depending on election results, Republicans would challenge ballots cast after 8 p.m., the campaign for GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley said. Any ballots cast after 8 p.m. were to be counted as provisional ballots and kept separate from the others, the judge ruled.

"There's no way of knowing if people were turned away or just saw on television that people could vote past 8 p.m.," said Kevin O'Connor, a lawyer who represented Foley at the hearing. "Depending on the outcome of the election, every one of those ballots will be challenged as being an illegal vote."

The judge's decision also affected the 4th District Congressional race. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim Himes urged voters who were turned away earlier due to the shortage of ballots to return to the polls. He said he didn't know whether lawyers for the Democratic National Committee would be investigating the situation.

"There's nothing more important in our system than that the voters' voices be heard," Himes said.

"It sounds like anarchy,'' said Douglas Whiting, a spokesman for the state House Democrats. "They were running out of ballots. People were leaving the polls. People were walking away. One of our guys on the ground said it was like anarchy. It sounds like a mess.''

Jason Perillo, campaign manager for Himes' opponent, Dan Debicella, made an announcement over the loudspeaker at the Norwich Inn after learning of the court's decision to keep 12 of Bridgeport's 25 precincts open until 10 p.m.: "We are disappointed with that decision and of course are concerned it will deeply bias the" election results.

Republican State Chairman Chris Healy filed a complaint saying he believes that it was illegal for Bridgeport officials to give voters photocopied ballots on Tuesday.

Black leaders were furious over the ballot shortfall, saying that it had a disproportionate affect on black and Latino voters.

"You could feel the voters' frustration,'' said Carolyn Vermont, president of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP. "They were shuttled from school to school and told their names were on no lists, even though they had voted before.''

"Turnout has been heavy, but I don't think it was heavier than expected," said Bridgeport Republican Registrar of Voters Joseph Borges.

In the previous midterm election, in 2006, voter turnout in Bridgeport was 34 percent. Four years earlier, in 2002, turnout was 40 percent.

West Haven also ran out of ballots at 2 of 12 polling places and was making paper copies, according to Michelle Hufcut, the Democratic registrar of voters.

"The turnout has been phenomenal," said Hufcut. "It's been incredibly busy."

FALL RIVER, Mass. — In the days leading up to his death, Odin Lloyd and former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez corresponded through text messages about meeting, according to testimony given in court Tuesday.

The Republican-controlled Congress admitted defeat and sent legislation to President Barack Obama on Tuesday that funds the Department of Homeland Security without the immigration-related concessions they demanded for months.